Understanding Manufacturing Layoffs and Restructuring: Case Studies

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understanding underlying causes

Major factors restructuring auto and manufacturing sectors

Corporations use boom-and-bust cycles to their advantage to restructure the auto industry, prioritizing profits at the expense of workers. Below are some of the major forces that shape conditions for U.S. manufacturing workers. These factors impact different workers in different ways, and in some cases result in locally increased production or job expansions. However, together these forces make manufacturing work as a whole more precarious, in part by pitting workers in different factories, regions, and countries against each other. Only through solidarity within and across our plants can workers get organized to take control over our industries.

Competition and Profit-seeking

Market competition from both U.S. and foreign-owned automakers drives corporations to reduce costs by keeping employment as low and precarious as possible

Tariffs

Tariffs have a direct impact on supply chain costs, can have different short- and long-term effects, and contribute to cross-border whipsawing as workers in different countries are pitted against each other

Moving Production from the Midwest to the South

The southward shift started in the early ’80s as foreign-owned automakers began opening plants in right-to-work states to avoid unionization and reduce labor costs

Automation and Technology Advancement

Whenever possible, corporations rely on new technology and automation to reduce costs and increase line speed, while decreasing the workforce

EV Policy Reversals

The corporate-led EV transition is unplanned and results in precarity for workers as EV policies, such as the consumer tax credit passed under Biden, are rolled back by the Trump administration

Booms and busts

This plot shows total employment in the auto sector over time, including assembly and parts plants, as well as both union and non-union shops. A quick glance shows the massive ups and downs in employment impacting hundreds of thousands of workers. The worst recent downturns occurred after 2000, during the 2008 economic crisis, and during the COVID-19 shut-downs. Will workers accept the next round of layoffs or will we fight back?